Sweet Revenge
by thexamimi
Summary: Raito finds that Near, in a lot of ways, is a lot like L. Then again, he is a lot different than L too. Eventual NearRaitoNear. MelloNear. Hints of LRaito. Character death in chapter three. WIP
1. Prologue

**Summary**: Raito finds that Near, in a lot of ways, is a lot like L. Then again, he's a lot different than L too. NearRaitoNear. Some MelloNear. Hints of LRaito, maybe. YAOI

Note: Parts of conversation has been drawn out of Death Note, vol. 8. Kinda reworded some…

Death Note ©Tsugumi Ohba

* * *

"It's L…the current one."

A pale boy who was dangling a dart in the air remained impassive as the name of a certain deceased person was spoken. He didn't expect the replacement of who was once his idol to call him at this time.

Another man's face hardened as he connected the call to the transmitter to hear what this L had to tell them. He too had not expected a call from such a person substituting one who was once of high intelligence and stealth. The pale boy carefully placed the dart down. There was a moment of silence as all of this was taking place.

"_Director,_" a scratchy voice said through the transmitter. Across the table, a bald man with a scruffy mustache that added on to his gruff demeanor had all his attention glued to the scrambled voice. It continued.

"_I've heard about John McEnroe, I mean agent Larry Conners, from Deputy Director Yagami._" A shocked Director Mason, the bald man, listened intently to the statement that was directed to him.

_The Japanese police…how did they--?_

"_I would like you to help us with NPA director Takimura's murder investigation,_" the voice continued, breaking the director's thoughts in his mind. The director's hands got clammy.

He had no idea what to say. "Well…"

"I'll speak." A firm, deep, but still young voice came from the pale boy. He held out his hand expectedly out at Director Mason, who was still surprised and a bit dazed. The director was bewildered and looked at the nonchalant boy in front of him, twirling his hair and clad in white sleep wear. One would surely underestimate the type of person this boy was. Still, the man complied and slowly handed the phone to the boy. He snatched it.

"L number two. Nice to meet you," he stated, void of any emotion. Ironically, he was not very pleased to hear this imposter of an L. Perhaps bluntly stating the secret only a selected people know will help "L" realize his secret wasn't so confidential

As anticipated, there was a barely noticeable pause. Barely, because it was so short nobody else but the boy would've noticed it. Noticeable, because he had expected it. And he was sure he did not imagine that pause.

"_Number two? What do you mean by that?_"The second L asked innocently. "_And who are you?_"

"It's useless to try and hide it," the pale boy answered. He imagined that whoever was on the other side of the line who claimed to be the great L was most likely surprised. "We're a new group called the SPK which has been established to capture Kira without the help of L. And about seven of the top members of this group know of L's death."

Another pause, probably because the second L was contemplating on what to say next. Which wouldn't be necessary.

"I am the head of the SPK," the pale boy stated while twirling a lock of hair with his finger. "Let's see…call me N…"

* * *

Raito was a bit taken back. How could this person have known about L's death? "Number two? What do you mean by that? And who are you?" The brunet asked, his voice firm and strong. He would not give out and stutter.

"_It's useless to try and hide it,_" the scrambled voice said. "_We're a new group called the SPK which has been established to capture Kira without the help of L. And about seven of the top members of this group know of L's death._"

Raito's frown deepened. About L's death? Where had they found out about it? And most importantly, from whom? He had to know.

"_I am the head of the SPK,_" the voice continued. "_Let's see…call me N…_"

_N?_ Raito's brows furrowed and his grip on the phone tightened. Was this a joke? Or the SPK head's first initial? The familiar feeling of L's mysterious aura swarmed around Raito. N reminded him of L. Was N somehow related to L? Was that how he knew about L's death?

"_As I said, we will no longer rely on L. This means that in the States, my orders to the CIA and FBI will be given priority over your orders,"_ said the voice. "_But for the murder of the NPA director…I think the case of it may lead to Kira's arrest, so I will give the cooperation you need._"

_This guy…how is he so confident?_ Raito thought. _Anybody going after Kira should know to hide the fact that they're going after Kira,_ Raito thought. _This N…definitely reminds me of __**him**_**. **_I shouldn't be involved with this guy…no, wait, if I go back now, he'll suspect me. And I'll have to play the role as L…_

"_Is something the matter L?_" The scrambled voice broke Raito's trance, and Raito smirked to himself.

"N-no."

Damn. He had been nervous about this N suspecting he was Kira that he had accidentally slipped. He wiped off the small smirk on his face.

"To tell the truth, after the director was murder, deputy director Yagami's daughter was kidnapped supposedly by the same criminals. They have contacted us to make a deal in L.A."

"_A deal? The exchange of the girl for the notebook, correct?_"

"Yes…"

"_Very well. I will gather as many agents as I can in L.A. without telling them the details of this case…and use a satellite to watch over the L.A. area._" There was a pause.

"_Actually, I'll just let you have total authority of this._"

"_**L.**_" There was a click on the other end, signaling that N had hung up. Slowly, Raito hung up as well, the last words lingering in the air for him to hear. It was obvious N had stressed out "L" as if to mock him. If it wasn't for Raito's logical composure and his coworkers around him, he would have immediately screamed in fury.

_That bastard…_

* * *

Near had noticed when he had truthfully and confidently told the second L of his decision, there was a pause on the other line. He concluded that the second L was a hesitant person who carefully chose their words since he or her always paused after a long list of information was given to them. Perhaps this L was contemplating of what was being said to him? Or maybe it was because this L had something to hide and was careful not to accidentally tell him, Near, something confidential about himself?

_Interesting…_

"Is something the matter L?" Near asked. Although it sounded as an innocent question, truth be told, he really asked the question to intimidate the second L.

"_N-no._"Ah. He was right. Well, Near assumed he was right. The second L was most likely considering the fact that he, Near, obliged to his request.

"_To tell the truth, after the director was murder, deputy director Yagami's daughter was kidnapped supposedly by the same criminals. They have contacted us to make a deal in L.A._"

"A deal? The exchange of the girl for the notebook, correct?"

"_Yes…_"

"Very well. I will gather as many agents as I can in L.A. without telling them the details of this case…and use a satellite to watch over the L.A. area," Near listed. As he unfolded his plan, he wondered how the second L would react and handle the situation of this case. All of L's problems…well, the original L would have never called in the first place because L worked alone. However, the new L was just an amateur. He or she could not handle the priorities of being the top detective in the world well, and therefore needed other people's funding and assistance in order to continue their job. So what if…

"Actually, I'll just let you have total authority on this." Just to taunt this "L" and the Japanese police. And then he nonchalantly ended the call. It took a lot of willpower to keep himself from smirking smugly.

When he had hung up, Rester handed Near a cup filled with darts and Near took one.

"Near, are you sure about this? This fake L hasn't succeeded at all in bringing down Kira," Rester asked, setting the cup down on the table close to where Near would be able to reach it.

Near fiddled with the dart and dragged his dangling leg on the floor, swiveling him left and right. "So much the better," Near replied. "There's a chance we can take advantage of him. Of course, we must place saving others full priority. However…" Near aimed for the dartboard, positioning the angle of his dart.

"Our first and foremost goal is to get the notebook and to…" He threw the dart at the dartboard effortlessly.

_Fwik! _

_Thunk!_

"Catch Kira." The dart fell into a pile of darts, scattered under the dartboard.

"And to be truthful, I think the notebook better belongs in someone else's possession other than the Japanese police."

* * *

After the conversation with N, Raito felt like he had just spoken with L. The familiar but not cocky confidence when he talked, the intellect behind his words, even the mysterious alias—it all reminded Raito of _him. _Six years later and the insomniac was _still _haunting him. Six years of finally being able to freely lead the Japanese police around in circles while trying to catch Kira, not knowing that it was actually Kira who was throwing them off; six years of freely killing off criminals and stopping crimes in the world…his plan of a perfect world was going to be foiled.

All because of _N._

But Raito was not afraid. No, he, like N, was going to fight back.

He was not going to let some anonymous SPK leader to stop Kira from making the world a better place.

He was not going to let N to stop Kira from putting justice on the world.

But most of all…

He was not going to let L win again.

* * *

**A/N: **So…what do you think? I know this is short, but trust me…the other chapters won't be. The first chapter is just the prologue; I want to see if you guys like the idea of…this. Yeah.

Please comment! Tell me what to improve, what you liked, whatever. (Or you can just fav, heh. :D) Appreciate it!

P.S. This is like, my first DN story, so…yeah.


	2. Chapter 1: Insights and Departing

Note: Parts of some dialogue is added here from chapter 63. Also realize that some of the events occurring in the manga are different in the anime. I also, in my view, have put some Mello/Near thoughts that later progress into…well, something more?

**Summary: **Raito finds that Near, in a lot of ways, is a lot like L. Then again, he is a lot different than L too. NearRaitoNear. MelloNear. Hints of LRaito, maybe. YAOI

**Warning: **Some yaoi. Bad thoughts. (No, not perverted ones!)

**Disclaimer: **Mine. Yes it is.

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**S w e e t R e v e n g e**

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_Mello…are you behind this all?_ Near held the matchstick in the air with his index finger and thumb, examining it. His expression was unreadable, though if one looked closely, they would see the slightest hint of a frown. He set the match perfectly straight down aligned with the others, making sure they were exactly parallel from each other on the table. Then, when he was sure no one was looking, he slipped his hand inside his shirt, reaching for the inside pocket. Slipping two fingers in the pocket, he grabbed a thin object with his middle and index finger, and pulled it out.

It was a picture of Mello as a child.

Near frowned. Whenever he saw that picture of him, he would frown as if he were disappointed. Disappointed at Mello because his emotions often got in the way of his work.

Disappointed at Mello who gave up so easily.

But mostly, he was disappointed that Mello left Whammy's. Near knew if he and Mello had partnered up, they would've exceeded L. They both lacked a skill that the other had an abundance of. They were like yin and yang. Ice and fire. Black and white.

If only Mello didn't have so much pride…

He closed his eyes and slid the photo back in his shirt pocket. The kidnappers…perhaps Mello had something to do with them like he was somehow involved with the death of Takimura.

_No, that is only an assumption; if Mello was the kidnapper, he couldn't have killed Takimura if he needed him for ransom. It is most likely Kira killed Takimura in order for the kidnappers to not gain possession of the notebook. Otherwise, the kidnappers would've not taken advantage of Takimura's death for another kidnapping. Yes, that's it…_

His finger twirled a lock of platinum hair, deep in thought, and slowly letting out a sigh.

_Why, Mello?...Why are you so troublesome?_

--

_Clatter._

"Ugh! I hate you Near!"

Small puzzle pieces flew into the air and clattered on the ground, some pelting the little white head which hung low, not in shame, but rather in ignorance. The blond child who towered over the other child raised his foot to once again kick what was left of the puzzle that lay in front. Still, the reaction he was vying for did not appear on the silent boy's face, his cold dark eyes emotionless.

The blond boy clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, eyes narrowing. _How dare he ignore me! _

In an instant, he reached out and grabbed Near's shirt collar. Near, however, was not surprised and stared at Mello with dark unfeeling eyes.

"Damn you Near! You just always have to be better than me, huh? Do you?"

He got no response from him. Mello glared into his eyes, searching for an answer. But it seemed that even the light in the room could not reach his eyes, the windows of his soul.

That is, if he had one.

He pushed Near hard on the floor, hoping it would break his back.

Near stopped his head from banging on the ground by landing on his elbows and bottom. A sharp throbbing wavered in the landed areas. Since his tender bones weren't use to hard surfaces, he made a noise in pain, and yet, still kept his composure.

"Do you know how much I study just even _try _to beat you? While you play with your toys, _I _have to earn my grades while you easily sit there and make better than me?" Mello yelled, infuriated. He felt like his head would at anytime overflow with blood and a vein would break. But at the moment, he was too focused and angry at the pale boy who had not even once cowered in fear.

Near turned his eyes away from Mello's flaring green ones. Mello instead grabbed Near's shirt again and twisted his small head to look at Mello. But the dark impassive eyes merely shifted away from the heated gaze set on him.

"You think you're so all that and high and mighty, Near, but you're not. You're inhuman. You have no feelings and don't care about others when they get hurt. You just sit there, playing with your pathetic toys and putting together puzzles while others _suffer_ because of you!" Mello gave a punch on his cheek, pleased when the taciturn boy whimpered and squeezed his eyes shut.

But before the blond boy could've inflicted another blow to Near's head, there was a sharp gasp.

"Mello!"

Upon hearing the shrill voice of another, he snapped his head to the door. There stood a girl with strawberry blond hair in two pigtails, and she looked terrified at the sight she was seeing. Her light brown eyes looked unbelievably at the bruised swelling on Near's cheek.

_Damn that Linda!_ Mello immediately unhanded Near and he fell to the floor in a "thump". He slumped, once again, on his elbows to prevent from banging his head on the ground.

"Nhn…"

The girl Linda gasped again and, frightened by Mello's savage glare, sprinted down the corridor away from the scene.

_Crap, she's probably going to tell Roger about this,_ Mello thought. He gritted his teeth. _Stupid tattletale Linda…_

"I apologize, Mello," a deep yet girly voice mumbled. Mello turned to look pleasingly at the colorless pile on linoleum tile floor. Though the words Near had spoken were used in a remorseful way, the tone was not apologetic but rather neutral. (_Man, Near sounds a girl…)_ "I honestly am. I don't know what misery others are facing because of me…but I apologize for them if I had caused them or was ignorant to them…"

"No, Near! You can't be sorry! You can't be sorry if you don't even _know _what you're sorry for!" Mello exclaimed. He saw the diffident face fade into a bewildered one.

Near shuffled his feet. "No, I do not know, but seeing the distress on your face, I—"

"Shut up Near. Just shut up."

Near sighed in defeat. It was useless to argue with Mello and expect him to cooperate easily with others. He slowly staggered up the floor, gritting his teeth as the throbbing from his bruises weakened him.

"This is your entire fault Near," Mello spat out. The pale boy stopped patting off the dirt from his clothes and looked up at Mello. There was, once again, the irritated fierce look Mello had countless times shown on his emotional face. "This is how you make people miserable Near. They always have to put up with your weakness and then, in the end, they get punished."

"Mello, you are not making any sense," Near said calmly. "I clearly did not disturb you in anyway at all—"

"I'm going to get punished!" Mello yelled. He angrily pointed a finger at the beaten and confused boy in front of him.

"And it's all _your _fault!"

Near sighed.

_The memory had not been a pleasant one._

--

Raito had remembered the kidnapper's exact words: In two days, they had to arrive to L.A. to get back Yagami Sayu in exchange for the notebook.

The deputy director's daughter in exchange for the Death Note.

His little sister in exchange for a notebook that could kill people with just a name and face.

Yet, for Yagami Raito, it was not a hard decision for him to choose between the two.

He would've chosen the Death Note, of course.

But he was not like his father who cared deeply for his family much more than any supernatural notebook.

His respect for his father did not waver, however. His father was willing to risk his life and duty as a police officer in order for his daughter to live.

"Raito…"

The brunet looked at his dad's solemn and anxious face. His father's face was wrinkled, and though he did not appear as old as Watari, his physical appearance made him seem older than what he really was. White strands were scattered from his scalp in his once dark hair. Pale and sullen skin from inactivity had him looking even older.

Raito knew of the difficult situation the director was in, and he didn't let go of his calm stature. But that didn't stop him from pretending to be a caring brother and an uneasy son.

His father sighed. "I don't care if this costs me my life," he said, looking quite downcast. Raito almost pitied his dad for a moment. "But, please, save Sayu…"

He could not believe it. His dad was being pessimistic about the exchange. Not only was he giving up six years of what he had worked for, he was also giving up his life as if he had no reason left to live. It was degrading to see the director like this.

Honestly, how could he have admired such a person when he was young?

What a mistake he made.

"Don't be a fool," Raito said, surprising Soichiro. "You may be content with that...but do you have any idea what the others would do if you die?"

His son's words sunk in his head, and he contemplated on them.

The young man saw that his acting was working, so he continued. "You can't die in front of Sayu regardless." He set his hands on each of father's shoulder. "You might have to make your own decisions if you were to lose contact with me, but…"

Soichiro stared at his handsome and intelligent son in admiration. Pride and confidence filled his heart. If Raito, courageous and quick to decision making, had belief in him, then…

Soichiro sadly gazed with happiness at Raito.

_Thank you, my son._

Behind them, both were unaware of Matsuda's tears flooding down his face.

_What a beautiful father and son scene…_

But even though Raito's brows were furrowed in concern, his thoughts were racing with doubts of the kidnappers. If the kidnappers ever so happened to pull a trick, would he be desperate enough to kill his own sister in order for the kidnappers to not gain possession of the notebook?

--

_Near…I _will _beat you to Kira._

Mello had tried to ignore the loud cackles that came from his henchman's women and their cooing that prevented him from his thoughts. But the disgusting public display of affection was a bit too much. A curvaceous but horrendous looking woman perched a leg between Ross's legs, while the other woman, more on the chubby side, hung her arms around the man's neck, nuzzling his shoulder. The three were sprung on the tribal printed loveseat while Mello resided on the nearby sofa.

The sight sickened Mello, yet he knew he was supposed to be use to it by now.

After all, being the Mafia leader had a lot of responsibilities and had more important issues to focus on.

"Ross, refrain yourself from contracting an STD, and connect me to Zakk (1)," commanded Mello. The burly man stopped laughing along with the women and scowled, narrowing his eyes at the blond. However, Mello wasn't the type to comment back, avoiding the man's face all the while. It was inevitable to him that his statement had been offending, but he didn't much care about their reactions.

The woman, who had her leg set on top of the man's leg, glared disapprovingly at Mello, affront at his insult.

"God, don't be so vulgar; we're just trying to enjoy ourselves," the woman hissed. Yet her anger was short-lived when she gazed up at Ross with a coy expression on her face. "Isn't that right, Ross?"

The man chuckled and neared his face to the woman, but Mello, infuriated and mentally disturbed, threw his half-eaten chocolate bar at him. It flew between the man's and woman's face, stirring them out of their reverie with each other.

"Shut up and stop fooling around! Connect me to Zakk this instant, Ross!"

The larger man grimaced, refraining himself from storming over to the leader and beating the shit out of him.

"Alright, alright, Mello." The blond eyed Ross's every action, daring him to disobey him. He watched him connect a cord to the speakerphone, which was connected to a laptop. The laptop was serving as a substitute for a cell phone, only it had more security barriers satellites could not break. Then, he typed something on the laptop. A few seconds later, the speakerphone rang a few times before there was a pickup.

"_Z5VI36 (2) here. What is it, R09M3O?_"

"Any sign of a man that looks like Yagami?" Ross asked.

"Give the phone to me," Mello demanded. Ross willingly threw the phone to him.

"_No, I have not yet, and it's already two hours past noon…_"

"This is MO VIS236 C6 now speaking," Mello said into the phone. "I want to remind you that if Yagami does not appear at the airport by 17:00 P.M., you send note of it to us, and we'll do the rest."

"_Yes, I understand._"

"I also remind you to give the earpiece and PDA to Yagami," Mello said. "Make sure he does _not _use _his_ own cell phone to contact other people. The PDA we provided for him is used so we can view the director's messages once we command him to contact L or another one of his men. Got that?"

"_Yes_."

"Good." And with that, he ended the call.

"Boss, why are you giving him the benefit of contacting L and the others?" Ross walked over to the two women, who looked immensely bored, and sat down between them. "I mean, couldn't he pull a trick out on us?"

"I don't think the Japanese director is _that _stupid," Mello said. "Even though he's giving up the notebook, I'm sure that the thought of his daughter being killed isn't worth something to take a risk on." He leaned forward, reached for, and grabbed one of the chocolate bars lying on the table.

"So, why don't we pull any tricks on them?"

Mello ignored the idiocy of the question. "Because we don't want Kira's eyes on us," he replied. Unraveling the wrapper, he scrapped the bottom of his teeth under the chocolate. It was making him tired by just even explaining his plan. "Kira killed NPA Japanese director Takimura, so if we killed his daughter or him, Kira would then track _us _down and we'll be their next target."

"Wow…that's smart, Mello," one of Ross's women said.

"Secondly, I don't want to get anymore trouble with the Japanese police. We've already caused Takimura's death with the deal, so we don't need some Japanese police officers ganging on us."

_However, I'm getting a feeling that it's not _just _the Japanese police that's tracking us down…_Mello thought. While Ross had commented something agreeing with his explanation, Mello drifted to his thoughts about Near and his motives.

_It is most likely that little bastard is also tracking me down. Idiot Near. You can't beat me _this _time. _

_You _won't _beat me this time. And I'll make sure you won't be able to._

--

Ide cared deeply for the deputy director. He was having a really hard time lately.

After all, who wouldn't be? Although he couldn't pretend himself as a respectful father with two perfect children and a loving wife, it would be tormenting to have either one of those things taken away from his life.

So the situation he was in right now terrified him. He was panicking, a million thoughts a second running through his mind.

A stranger who had intercepted Director Yagami at the Narita airport led him to Gate 18, Flight SE333 when, really, he was supposed to take the next flight. Ide didn't know what the man was doing, but his instinct told him it had something to do with the kidnappers.

Immediately, he fumbled through his pockets and snatched his cell phone the instant he found it. He speed-dialed to the only person who knew what to do in this situation.

"L, a man has stopped him at Narita. Should I arrest him?" Ide asked, his voice unsteady.

"_Calm down Ide. Don't arrest him yet. Just make sure you don't lose sight of him_," L warned.

"O-okay…" he stammered. He speed-walked after the two men, making sure he was at least several feet behind in order for the stranger to be suspicious of him, and yet not too far to where Ide wouldn't lose sight of them.

He had calmed down a bit, but only until he saw the deputy director and the other man walk to another flight.

Cold, nervous sweat broke out on Ide's forehead.

"The deputy director just went on a different flight from his with the man," Ide whispered into the phone, since he was at least five feet behind them. He swallowed. "I'm going to show my police badge and get on the plane with them."

"_Hold on, don't do that. If the man finds out that you're a police officer, it'll blow our cover. What's the flight's destination?_"

"Uh…" Ide looked up at the sign above him. _Gate 18…departure…_

"Oh, this one's heading to LA too…" he said a bit surprisingly.

There was a pause on the other line. "_That's Aizawa's flight, isn't it?_"

"Yeah, that's right."

"_Okay. Email Aizawa of the situation and I'll get back to you later._"

"Um, alright…" Ide hesitantly pressed the red phone button. Standing there in the same spot, he glanced outside the large window of the airport. There was a plane, clearly boarding passengers.

_Ding._

_Flight SE333 is now boarding. _A soothing voice spoke above him. He sighed hopelessly.

_Damn it, what to do?_

* * *

**TBC.**

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(1) In the manga and anime (I think), it never tells his alias, so I used his real name. Correct me if I'm wrong.

(2) I honestly did not know what the freak MO VIS236 C6 was (a code name?), so I did the same thing to the others, only I made theirs up.

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Kukuku, what to do now, eh? Well, I hope that wasn't as disappointing as you guys thought it would be. And I typed most of this out yesterday and today! I tried making this chapter, like, totally lengthy and understandable. At first, this chapter was just Mello, Near, and Raito's first impression of each other. But then, hey, I need a plot to this! **And this isn't just going to be the whole retelling of Death Note. I am going to change some things to have it twist in a different direction.**

I'm out for summer cuz I got exempt for all my classes! Yosh!

I start high school in August. –squeals-

Oh, and this whole summer, I'll definitely try to work on this story. But I'm going to be super busy in July. I have this camp shit and all. Plus I have swim team. But, I really will try to update!

P.S. I need a beta. And reviews. So please comment!


	3. Chapter 2: Exchange for Death

**Summary: **Raito finds that Near, in a lot of ways, is a lot like L. Then again, he is a lot different from L too. Eventual RaitoNear, MelloNear…some hints of LRaito

**Warning: ****Character death.**Some yaoi. May change rating in further chapters. :D Spoilers. Dialogue from vol. 8 reworded.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Near…I mean Death Note. SCREW YOU OHBA MAN. Story is mine. :)

So is Betsy, but she's dead.

Note: Sorry for the wait…even thought it wasn't that much of a wait, so never mind. XP

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**S w e e t R e v e n g e **

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Airplane pilot Kyle Block never, in his whole entire life, imagined something like _this _to happen.

He had a good life; a pleasant childhood to remember, served in the army for a little while, and had a well-paying job to support his wife of thirty-six years, his two children, and grandchildren.

Life-changing experiences, he never had. But he didn't really care, since he was content with what he obtained and accomplished.

However, he had not anticipated anything like death threats and kidnappings in his years to occur.

It had been a busy week for Kyle Block at the airport, and he knew the days got busier within the week. So it had been a huge relief to come home, knowing that hecould relax with his wife.

The last thing he wanted to see was his living room trashed as if a thief had came in.

Worried, the first thing that he yelled out for was his wife. He knew she was usually upstairs, cleaning the rooms or doing laundry; so immediately, he dropped his jacket and hat on the floor and rushed upstairs, calling her name.

He got even more worried by the second when he didn't get a reply. _The sound of the washing machine,_ he thought, _must be drowning out my yells. She's probably hiding too, poor Betsy…_

The first room he checked was the laundry room, but she wasn't in there, even though the machines were still running. Noticing the neatly folded clothes that had been placed on the dryer, he concluded that his wife had already been in the room.

_So where is she? _He frantically thought.

"Betsy!" He called out again. Racing to the bedrooms, he was disappointed that his wife was still absent, yet relieved since most of the bedrooms seemed to be intact.

Still, there was one room he hadn't checked.

His vision, for a moment, swirled around him. Dizzy, he held onto the wall.

Perhaps the stress was getting to him. Perhaps he was paranoid…

_Was it thieves or kidnappers? What happened here?_

Nearing at the door, he leaned on the wall to catch his breath. _It's okay_, he told himself. _Nothing bad happened to her._

Slowly, he turned the brass doorknob and pushed the door in, waiting for something to jump out. But taking in the sight of their bedroom, he gasped and fully flung the door open, an incredulous scene before his eyes. His ears began gradually throbbing, and a slight ringing pulsed in his head.

He wanted to yell.

He wanted to call 911.

He wanted the nightmare to end.

But all he could do was just stand there, eyes wide in shock at the scene before him.

There was his old and fragile wife lying limp on the floor, a gunshot to her bloodied forehead. Crimson blood was splattered in her grey-streaked hair and on the once-beige carpet. Her eyes looked worried and in pain, but lifeless as they were still half-open, staring off into the ceiling.

And there was a note on her body.

Even though still traumatized, he grudgingly picked up the note, thankfully not covered in blood.

_**This is what happens when you don't obey the Mafia's commands, and the same thing **_**will **_**happen to your family if you don't follow them.**_

_**And if you dare tell anyone **_**again **_**about this…we will kill you and your family.**_

He was agape in fear and disbelief.

_It…it wasn't a joke…_

Hands shaking, the man slowly let the note slip from his fingers.

--

_Did that man with my father hijack the plane? Damn it, where are they going now?_

This was not going as he had planned. Distraught with decisions, Raito need to come up with an alternative idea.

_It's basically now useless that I came here in L.A. I can't contact other police agencies around the world as L since I just arrived._

There was a beep coming from another laptop, and Raito snapped his head behind him. It was a message from Aizawa. He hurried over to it and clicked on the screen.

_**The deputy director and the man who got on with him are sitting in seats 44-G and 44-H. Thankfully, I'm sitting at 37-B where I can get a good look at them**_,the message read. _**They still haven't moved yet.**_

Raito immediately typed a reply back.

_**Matsuda said the plane is moving off course. Did the man with the deputy director hijack the plane? They are probably going to drop him off somewhere. Take a look around without removing sight of the two**_, he typed. Hitting the enter button, he waited patiently for a reply.

_This is crazy! How did the kidnappers manage to hijack the plane? _

Another message came from Aizawa.

_**They are both in their seats. So, if the man didn't hijack the plane, I assume other people must've done it. Nothing bad happened to the plane yet, as far as I can see.**_

_Other people?_ Raito pondered. _Does that mean there are other people working with the kidnappers on the plane?_

Not sure of his theories, he hacked into the airport's system and scanned through the airplane crews of scheduled flights to L.A.

_Let see…today's the thirteenth…_

Typing rapidly, he went through the list of the crewmembers. He checked every person's history and personal résumé's, but none seemed to show any sign of criminal charges. A cool bead of sweat slowly trickled down his neck.

_There weren't any changes either…_

Looking up the people on sub-director Yagami's flight, he found no replacements in the crew. The pilot and co-pilot didn't seem suspicious at all either.

Raito was seething with rage and his temper threatened to melt the calm demeanor he had put on to remain unaffected despite the turmoil happening. He lacked options, and all were not very good. No matter what he did, the kidnappers seemed to get the better hand.

"Light," Misa said, her voice concerned. She had arrived in Raito's hotel about twenty minutes after he had. After all, he needed her help, and she was willing to do so.

Sitting up from the couch, she stepped toward Raito. "Are you okay? You don't look well…"

_That stupid little…if it doesn't look like I'm well, then I must not be!_

"Misa," spoke Raito through gritted teeth. His patience was running low. "Do what I told you to do. Be stricter about killing the criminals in Japan now. You know how they are trying to find information about Kira."

Confused, Misa still hesitantly nodded. "Um, okay. But who else is—"

"_Misa! Just do as I tell you to!_" the brunet commanded, a drop of saliva spraying out of his mouth.

_Gods, just look at what this is doing to me…_

The blonde flinched at the volume of his voice, never before experiencing her beloved so furious before.

"O-okay…" She sighed but complied with his orders, understanding the fact he was extremely stressed under all the pressure of his job. Even she felt a bit of stress herself. Her eyes felt awfully tired and dry from looking at computer screens all the time.

_Poor Raito…he's in even more pain, pretending to be Kira and L at the same time. It must be extremely hard to keep people lagging around him without any knowledge of him as Kira_

Her obedience calmed him a bit, but it did nothing to soothe the chaos in his mind.

_Damn, I have no choice but to…_

--

_Ah, _Near said to himself. _L has called once again…_

"_N, I'm pretty sure you're aware of the state the director is in. Please send note to the airline, police, and the army not to get involved yet,_" L's scrambled voice spoke to Near from SPK Director Mason's cell phone.

Near, if he were any other person, would have huffed in annoyance. To him, the second L was merely a hindrance rather than a help to catching Kira.

His pale hand that held a dart in the air continued spinning the toy with his fingers.

"That's not such a tactful move L," he heard Rester mutter. In his mind, Near agreed, but only partially.

After all, imitators were not the same compared to the original. So, it wasn't surprising to see the second L grovel to the ground for assistance.

He wasn't sure what the other L was up to, but even though Near did not want to ally with the Japanese police force, they had some useful information he wanted to know.  
Maybe it was better staying on their good side just this once.

"Very well, L. I'll also calculate where the plane might land, and I'll keep watch on it with a satellite camera," Near said. He examined the dart he had, finding the parallel lines on it very interesting.

"Is there anything else you would like me to do?"

There was a long pause on the other end of the line, and for a moment, Mason quietly asked if L had hung up.

"_Yes. Please look up the two pilots controlling the plane and the man Zakk Irius. His name is spelled Z-A-K-K I-R-I-U-S. He's the man who is with Yagami_," L said.

Near wondered how he got to the man's name so quickly.

"Alright. I'll see what I can do," he finalized. He waved his hand, notifying to end the call.

Near swiveled the chair around and gave Rester an expectant look. "Well, Rester, you heard him."

The blond man nodded and began to work.

--

Sayu Yagami was scared to death. So scared by the thought of being killed after she had been kidnapped to a place thousands of miles away from home. She didn't even try screaming in the hideout, or wherever she was, because it would've been futile anyway. With the place filled with top criminals and her as the victim…

Yeah right. As if someone was going to help her. She did not even know the reason why she was kidnapped in the first place.

A rough hand seized her bounded arm, dragging her up harshly from the cold hard ground. Gasping behind her muffled mouth, her eyes scrunched in fear behind the blindfold toward an alcohol-smelling person, who she assumed was five times larger than she was.

"Ge' up, girl. Your daddy's goin' na get you," he said in slurring English with his deep and scratchy voice, a language she did not excel as well in as her brother did. But a hasty pull was enough to tell her to stand up, although she could not get up without balancing herself first. Pushing her legs up, the sudden rush of blood flow pooled to her legs and her head got a little woozy.

"Mmphmg!" She muffled under the gag as she lost balanced and stumbled back onto the floor, her dark vision swirling. Even so, the annoyed man jerked her fragile body up.

"Stupid girl!"

She did not know where she was currently or where he was dragging her. The sides of her face were sticky with sweat, and it felt like as if a second layer of nasty muck was developing on her neck. Her mind urged her to go take a dip in water, but the thought of the kidnappers allowing her to do just that was too much to ask for.

They would probably just shoot her anyways.

Too afraid to even speak, Sayu grudgingly followed the man, trying to keep up with the quick pacing. Her footsteps were timid and lagged a bit behind in contrast with the other's large and forceful ones. The surroundings around her changed, Sayu noticed, as the steps she took got somewhat louder and echoed around her.

The eerie reverberations that rang around her was causing her to perspirate nervously even more, especially when her covered eyes found pitch black darkness surrounding her. At least, in the other room where she had been held hostage, the lights lit in there shone a bit through the translucent fold.

Another yank had almost sent her flying forward if it hadn't been for two large hands immediately grabbing her tied arms from falling. A throaty gasp behind the gag was muffled.

"Damn it, clumsy bitch! Don't limp behind!"

Holding back a cry of despair from the man's abrasive manner, tears of grief and dread formed on her eyes. Her bruised arm was snatched and pulled on once again, and she squeezed her eyes shut angrily at the emotional and physical pain she felt. The wetness from her tears seeped out from the corners of her eyes.

_Okaa-san…mom…_

She missed her mother. She missed her home, her family, her friends…

It was all Kira's fault.

Kira was the one who made her father stressed from work and always kept him away from home, occupying his time with the family.

Kira was the one who also made her brother stressed, not to mentioned being _framed _to being him, and kept her brother away from the family too.

Kira was the one who killed the bad _and _the good. He killed whoever was in his way or simply did not agree with his view of the world.

Kira…killer…

Who he was, she _hated _him. Kira ruined her life. She would not forgive him.

Her hatred for Kira temporarily replaced the fear she had contained earlier, but reality came rushing back to her as a forceful shove behind her back sent her sprawling on the cold concrete, landing on her right shoulder.

"Nngh!" she cried when the hard ground collided with her bony shoulders.

Fingers snagged into her hair and the knot of the gag, jerking her upper body upward. Her head pulsed rapidly along with her heartbeats, but as her mind calmed down, she made real of what the man was actually doing.

The cloth loosened around her head, thankfully, and she spat the cloth out of her mouth. A certain dry spot of her mouth yearned for water. Then the blindfold came off next, and she immediately took in the sight of her surroundings.

It was still dark, but there was a dim lighting to it above her. There were dusty and dirty large concrete walls and in front of her were revolving glass doors. There was a hole in the middle of two perpendicular glass doors, and a rectangular hole in the middle of the other two.

Sayu stared in bewildered awe at the device. "_Nani_…"

"Keh, it's not the time to cry out to your nonny, or mommy," the man sneered, shoving her toward the doors. She walked forward, but before she did, she turned her head around to see the man who had brought her to the tunnel-like place. Perhaps if she caught a glimpse of him, when the police questioned her…

All hope dissipated as the man had had on full-covered mask.

And he was holding a cell phone.

The glass door she had enter in started to slowly move behind her, and she backed away from the rotating door. She was in between a door with the circle hole and a rectangle hole.

"_Yagami Sayu,_" a scrambled voice around her said in Japanese. She looked up to the dark ceilings, searching for a speaker, but none found. "_Your father sent a message to give to you: 'I'm on my way, so don't worry. I promise to rescue you. Do you have your watch? What time is it?'"_

Relief washed over her trepidation. _Otou-san…_

"_We will allow for you to answer him._"

The brunette blinked a couple of times, decisive about her careful words.

"_G-gomen otou-san." _Her parched throat croaked apologetically at her first words, but she did not mind. Even as scared and worried as she was for her father, she was happy to indirectly speak with her father. "This is all my fault. My watch says it's 2:42 A.M. in Japan."

"_Your message has been sent to your father, Sayu Yagami. Please wait for him._"

The last words the kidnapper spoke left Sayu uneasy and squirming.

_Oh Dad! _Sayu pleaded in her mind. Placing her dizzy head against the wall, she closed her eyes, tired from insomiac activity the past three days. _Please hurry! _

--

"N, can you send a helicopter?" Raito asked into the headset. Looking at the pictures of his dad N had sent Raito to his laptop, he closely examined the surroundings around him. It was a flat and sandy plain, but that's all he could see from the satellite's bird's-eye-view images.

The question of how his father was going to make the trade suddenly popped into his mind.

How _was _he going to make the exchange if there wasn't a single person in sight around a two-mile radius?

_What if the kidnappers don't keep their promise and quickly pulls a trick during the exchange?_

"_Yes, I'll send McEnroe with the helicopter,_" N said.

Realizing that it would be a good thing if the vice director knew about the helicopter, Raito dialed Yagami's cell phone. The director picked up after three rings.

"_Yagami here._" His father stated calmly.

"It's L," said Raito. "We have sent a helicopter controlled by an FBI agent, John McEnroe, like what the kidnappers said to do. Right now, your daughter's life and yours are top priority here, and I do not mind if the notebook gets into their hands."

Behind him, Ryuk chuckled.

"_**Spoken like a true son and detective, eh, Raito?**_" The shinigami sarcastically grinned.

He did not reply, for as he was deeply intent on the laptop screen in front of him.

"_Well_," N said from the phone Raito was still on. "_An underground passageway? How very interesting…_"

_No! _Raito thought as a mechanical door opened up from beneath the sand in the desert. _They're using an underground route to exchange the notebook in! So they knew we were tracking them with a satellite…_

The mouth that was agape open closed in a displeased way.

_Now we can't follow their movements._

"_L, are you really going to have them obtain the notebook?_" N asked. It was obvious that he or she was definitely trying to get Raito, or the second L in this case, purposely mad.

"_Do you have any plans?_"

To be honest, Raito really did not have any back up options. He did, but it would definitely deduct the amount of suspects leading to be Kira, and Raito was sure he was one of the suspects that would remain if he somehow was forced to kill his sister and father.

It was not a win-win situation.

He thought about the idea of having the director not exchange the notebook for his daughter, and in return, his daughter would get killed, but the director would not. However, it was far too late to act upon that choice.

"_L, are you there? Do you have any backup plans?_"

"N-no," Raito replied between his sigh. Well, he thought, if the director and his daughter were to survive in there, then it was likely that the kidnapper would then escape with the notebook. "But if the kidnappers do come out underground, we could track their movements on radar when they try to escape."

"_Yes, we could see where the escaper leaves to. There might be a chance that the one with the notebook will run to headquarters. But, there's a possibility that that is not going to occur," N stated. _"_Not to mention also that we'll somehow have to reopen the vault if the deputy director and his daughter does not exit back out."_

At those words, Raito clenched his fists, imagining the result of the deaths.

"Even if the person with the notebook does not exit out, we still have to keep an eye out for any sign of people coming out from underground," he reminded. "And what will we do if the kidnappers _do _happen to kill the deputy director and his daughter?"

"_Well,_" N contemplated. "_Then I guess we will have to give our condolences to the family and severely punish the kidnappers._"

Even if the voice was scrambled, Raito could imagine N's tone to be rather apathetic, and that angered him.

_They should do more than punish the kidnappers for taking the notebook away! I'll have Misa search for their names and kill most of them!_

"_Ah, we have found another helicopter located exactly five hundred meters from the site,_" N added. "_Hm…no one appears to be in it. Must be the kidnapper's escape plan._"

Raito nodded. "Yes, it must be. Keep your eyes on it, N."

_What could be going on down there? The kidnappers better not kill them…_

"_**Hey, look! They made it!**_" exclaimed Ryuk, surprised. Raito was relieved to see the door reopen and watched as his sister and father walked up the stairs from underground.

_Sayu…Dad…_

"N, when Yagami and his daughter move two miles away, send your agents in," he ordered. Then, at least two hundred meters away, another door from the ground made way for another person with a mask on to run up the stairs.

"_Ah, that means they've definitely exchanged the notebooks without seemingly harming the other two…_"

Raito was frantic about capturing the criminal, but he held that inside.

"Track where the kidnapper's helicopter lands. He might try to drop the notebook or hand it to someone in mid-air. Make sure to not lose sight of him."

"_Easy for you to say_," N said in a sulking way. "_I will see what I can—_"

N paused in mid-sentence, and lured into Raito's curiousity more.

"What? What is it?"

"_Hm. I can not believe we did not catch that earlier,_" N said dissappointedly. Whether it was directed to himself or Raito, it did not matter as Raito widened his eyes at the missile on his laptop's screen.

"_It appears the missile is about to be launched exactly half a mile from where the culprit exited, and seven hundred meters from where Mr. Yagami entered._ _Sadly, the missile appears to be untraceable._"

Raito's gaze froze in disbelief at the sight of the missile.

_Did they put the notebook on a missile_? _No way! There is no way that N could not have spotted the missile! That is ludicrous! Unless he is purposely trying to devise us from—_

Realization came to him in an instant.

_Of course!_

"N, tell me the truth…are you really not connected to the kidnappers in any way?"

There was a silence. Raito assumed it was because N was caught, or he was appalled by the accusation.

"…_Why do you ask that?_"

"Well," Raito hesitantly started. _Did I manage to find out his initial plans? _"It's only reasonable for me to assume that since the U.S. found out Japan held possession of the notebook and wanted to acquire it by arranging a plan…"

"_Wrong,_" N bluntly interrupted. "_True, while we do want to know about the notebook and Kira, we are not involved with the kidnappers in any way_." What sounded like a small sigh came from him. "_Unfortunately, the only way we can prove that to you is to capture the kidnappers._"

As Raito was about to reply, he then noticed the missile taking off…

…into the direction of the helicopter.

Raito widened his eyes as he realized the missile was heading towards…

"NO!" Raito exclaimed.

But it was already too late as the helicopter in which his father and sister had boarded onto exploded in flames and pieces flew in random places.

"_Otou-san!_" He shrieked at the laptop screen, ignoring two fragile hands that had settled onto Raito's shoulders.

"R-raito-kun..."

The brunet snapped his head angrily at the blonde, his eyes vicious and his face snarling.

"_Don't touch me!_"

Somewhere on the other side of the country, a boy called Near had stopped twirling his hair in shock and widened his eyes at the smoky debri falling to the ground while others around him also watched in horror as John McEnroe died that day from a missile crash.

But Near couldn't help notice the desperate cries coming from the second L.

* * *

**TBC.**

* * *

Wah. This chapter sucked ass. And sorry for the long update…I was, er…busy. At the Fireplace. Chatting.

I know. Shame on me. And I didn't even beta this nor revise it. So excuse the pitiful, pitiful mistakes I have made!

Now I need to go take a shower.

P.S. **Reviews appreciated. :) Cuz I'm a review whore. Yargh.**

P. S. S. **Thanks to Death Note Fan for telling me of an incomplete sentence! -slaps myself-**


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